


Here We Clone Again

by Debi_C



Series: Second Chances. [8]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Clones, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-12
Updated: 2011-10-12
Packaged: 2017-10-24 13:04:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/263804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Debi_C/pseuds/Debi_C
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jon and Danny are captured by an old enemy.  I know it says Major Character Death, but hey, in science fiction nobody dies forever.  Don't worry, trust me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here We Clone Again

**Author's Note:**

> This story won 3rd Place for the 2007 International Little Daniel List Award for Outstanding Other WIP Established Author.

Danny and Jon arrived back at their apartment after a particularly bad week. There had been a lockdown at Cheyenne Mountain due to a communicable disease brought back by another team. Neither of them had been exposed but they still couldn’t leave until a cure and an immunization had been found. This had mandated that Jon bunk in with other military members of the SGC. Daniel had been caught in it also but he’d rated a VIP room and had invited his ‘son’ Danny to share it with him. Both Danny and Jon had been welcome, but the young officer felt that he needed to be with others of his rank and not with the two civilians. Of course, this had separated the two lovers which they both hated, but Jon had to admit he did prefer that his young partner be apart from the rest of the men.

The two had finally been released and had quickly headed home. As they entered the apartment and shut the world behind them Danny dropped his briefcase, turned and wrapped his arms around his lover.

Jon enthusiastically smiled down into the tousled blond hair and kissed it. “Hi there.” The younger man responded by tightening his grip on him.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Missed you,” Danny mumbled into Jon’s uniform shirt.

“We saw each other every day.”

“Made it worse.”

“The good part is you got quality time with Daniel.”

“He snores,” the younger man responded. “His allergies were acting up from the dust in the room. He almost had an asthma attack.”

“Babe, I hate to tell you this….”

“I do not.”

Jon just smiled. “Yes, you do. But you do it softly and it’s cute.” He kissed the younger man on the forehead. “Kind of snuffly.”

Danny just buried his head on Jon’s neck.

The next thing they knew, there was a flash of light and a pop of expanding air.

>>

When Jon woke up he thought he was having the worst nightmare ever. Suspended horizontally in mid air, he was also stark naked and unable to move except to turn his head. When he did that, he was even more infuriated.

Standing several feet away from him was an Asgard… and kneeling at his little grey feet was an equally naked Danny. Frantically he tried to say something, but he could only get a gasping grunt out.

 

Danny shot him a quick glance, shook his head, and then looked back down at the floor. Jon could tell the Asgard was talking but the words were too soft for him to hear. He continued to struggle against his invisible bonds until finally the grey form turned to look at him with black almond shaped eyes.

The alien crossed over to a series of controls on the wall. He manipulated them and Jon felt a lessening of his constriction. The Asgard turned and faced him. “So, you are awake. You have regained consciousness more quickly than I expected.”

“Who the hell are you? You’re not Thor!” At least he could talk now, if not move.

The small alien looked insulted. “No, I am not Commander Thor. I am your creator.”

“Creator? Loki?” Jon spat out the question. “What are you doing here?”

“I am collecting my property.” Loki glanced down at Danny who was now standing up watching their interchange.

Jon was practically speechless in fury. “He’s… not… your… property!” he managed to grate out.

“There we disagree. I created him… and you, so therefore you are both my property,” Loki replied. “And I have need of him, and you, to continue my experiments.”

“How did you find us?”

“You were merely a fortuitous accident. I came after your companion. When I realized that my clone of Doctor Jackson was with you, it was a minor effort to bring you both back.”

Jon was so angry he was beyond words. He could only glare at their captor. Finally, he rasped out, “Danny, are you all right?”

The younger man turned to face his partner, the blue eyes fathomless wells of suffering. “I’m fine, Jon.”

The Asgard nodded impatiently. “Yes, he’s fine. Come along young one, it is time to begin the reimplantation of your computer links.”

“Danny!” Jon strained against his invisible bonds. “Danny! No! Don’t let him!” He tried to buck and roll to free himself of the force field. “You bastard! You hurt him and I’ll break your skinny neck.”

Danny stood up and, without a backwards glance, followed the Asgard out of the room leaving Jon yelling in the empty room.

The young man entered the laboratory behind his captor and looked around. It was different than the one he remembered, but he recognized many of the instruments that the alien had used on him previously. The Asgard turned and regarded him impatiently

“You must get on the table.”

“I don’t want to,” Danny said flatly, looking up at him stubbornly. “I don’t want to be a part of this.”

“It is irrelevant what you want, young one. For me to recalibrate my diagnostic instruments, you must get on the table so that I may begin.”

“And if I don’t get on the table?” he asked, meeting the Asgard’s eyes with a glare.

“You do understand what is at stake here.” Loki cocked his head meaningfully. “I am not doing this for my pleasure. I have serious research to continue.”

“Research into what?”

“I am still trying to help my people regain our ability to reproduce and regain our natural virility and strength.”

“You don’t need us for that,” Danny said. “Earth has made great advances in the biosciences. I’m sure that the SGC would be glad to help you in any way they can.”

Loki shook his head. “I can do it without their help. I will find the answer for my people.”

“Only if I agree to help you.” Danny stepped back. “I’m a lot larger and stronger than you now. You can’t make me do these things anymore.”

Loki looked up at him. “You will assist me. You will allow me to continue my work. You have no choice. Things can happen to test subjects that are… unexpected.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” Danny replied stubbornly.

“I was not referring to you.” The unspoken threat hung heavily in the air. “Your companion is helpless in my restraining field. It can be moderate or as harsh as necessary.” Loki looked at him. “It can cause damage if used injudiciously.”

Danny looked at him for a long moment, and then hesitantly walked to the exam table. He slid up on it and lay back staring at the ceiling. A lone tear tracked down his face. Loki nodded in satisfaction and turned to the equipment-laden table.

Jon wasn’t sure how long Danny had been gone when the younger man finally returned to their cell. The wait had seemed endless by the time he got back. Jon watched him carefully as his lover walked to the wall controls. He adjusted something and the force field began to weaken. Jon was finally able to twist himself around to land on his bare feet. He immediately went to where Danny was standing and put his hands on the younger man’s shoulders. “Hey, are you all right?”

The youngster nodded and then went into self hug mode.

Jon pulled his lover up against him.

Danny wasted no time in wrapping his arms around the other man.

“Babe, what happened?”

Danny shook his head against Jon’s chest. “Nothing.”

“Nothing? You’ve been gone for hours.” He tilted the younger man’s face up to look into his eyes. “What happened?”

“Loki took some baseline readings and measurements. He bitched about how I’d grown and complained that someone had taken the computer link out of my skull.”

Jon ran his hands through the thick thatch of golden blond hair. “He’s not….?”

“Planning to do it again? Yes, he is.” Danny buried his face in Jon’s neck. “He said he had to modify it because I’d gotten bigger.”

“Son of a bitch! Over my dead body!”

“Don’t,” Danny said softly and buried his face in Jon’s shoulder.

“Don’t what? Don’t watch him turn you back into his lab rat?” Jon hugged the younger man to him firmly.

“I don’t have a choice.”

“You always have a choice,” Jon replied. “You have the run of the ship don’t you?”

“Yeah, but he has you in here.” The earnest blue eyes looked up at him. “He can do anything he wants with us…to you...”

“Danny….”

“No, Jon, I won’t put you at risk.”

“Babe, I’m not the one at risk here, you are.” O’Neill cupped his lover’s face with his hand. “God knows what he’ll do to you…”

Danny shook his head. “I know what’s coming.” He laid his head against the warm chest. “I’ve lived through it before. He wants me to survive; he doesn’t want to kill me. I’m important to his research.”

“No, just torture you with experiments.”

“As long as I can come back to you when it’s over I don’t care.”

“Well, I do!” He tilted his lover’s face up to look at him and kissed him gently. “C’mon, let’s sit down and see what we can figure out.”

Several hours later, a soft gonging noise sounded and a panel slid back to reveal four containers, two tall and cylindrical and two bowl shaped. Danny got up from the floor and brought them back to where Jon was sitting. “Lunch.”

Jon took the proffered bowl and glass and looked at the contents. “What is it?”

Danny peered down at the small colored cubes. “I don’t know. I never thought about it before.” He shook his head. “Don’t eat the red ones. They’re nasty.”

“No wonder you were so thin when Thor dropped you off.”

The young man managed a quick smile. “I remember how you fixed me noodle soup for my first meal on Earth. I barely kept it down, but it was the best tasting thing I’d ever had.” He blushed and scooted closer to Jon. As if on cue, the lights dimmed.

Jon reached for his partner. “Well, at least he has some sense of romance.”

“No, it’s just that the dimming lights replicates the diurnal cycles of Earth. Loki said….”

Wrapping his hand around the back of Danny’s neck, Jon pulled him into a kiss interrupting the speech. “Did I ever tell you that you talk too much?”

“Uh huh.”

“I was right.”

“But you love me anyway?”

“Yep,”

 

^^^^^^^^

Jon had been awake already when the lights suddenly came back on. He’d been lying there in the twilight, looking down at the still sleeping man-child whose head was pillowed on his shoulder. They’d lain and talked for several hours the ‘night’ before as they held each other close for security and love. There had been no passion. They were both too highly strung by the unexpected turn of events that had landed them back in the clutches of the renegade Asgard. They hadn’t come up with a viable plan and now it seemed things were going to take a turn for the worse.

The sudden light woke Danny, and he turned and kissed Jon on the mouth. “Just remember, I love you.”

Jon nodded, “Me too, Danny. But he hasn’t won anything yet. I waited fifteen years for you. I’m not giving you up so easily.”

“You never do, Jon.” Danny smiled at him. “That’s why I love you.”

A small form appeared at the doorway. “It is time.”

Jon sat up, pulling Danny close to him. “No.”

“You must come with me. It is time to resume the procedures. I have worked several hours to modify the instruments to adapt to your new size.”

“I won’t let you have him!” Jon said defiantly.

“You cannot prevent it.” Loki reached for an unseen control on the wall outside their prison. The two men immediately felt the pull of the field being generated around them. They were locked into position. The small alien then entered the room and slowly reached into the restraining field and pulled Danny from his lover’s hold.

“You waste precious time,” he chided. After being separated from the older man, Danny was free of the force field and able to stand on his own. Loki looked at his subject. “You understand that this one’s continued well being depends upon your actions.”

The young man nodded. “I understand.”

“Do not cause me to regret bringing him with us.”

“I already regret it.”

“Danny,” Jon managed to call out to him. “Don’t do it. Don’t let him.”

The younger man shook his head at his partner then turned and followed Loki.

When Danny returned hours later, he went to the wall and manipulated the controls to the force field. When the captive Jon had been released, he looked at his lover. The youngster wouldn’t meet his eyes. Jon saw that he had been denuded of all hair. “Danny?”

He sighed. “It’s for the procedures. Loki says that body hair contaminates the specimens.”

Jon went to him and pulled him into his arms, kissing him on his bald scalp. “Are you okay?”

Danny chuckled, “I’m embarrassed. Is that funny or what?”

“What? Not funny.” He tilted the younger man’s face back and caressed his head with his fingers. “I know that you’re doing this to protect me. You don’t have to, you know.”

He pushed back against Jon and buried his head under his partner’s chin. “I do. I’m who he wants and you’re only the leverage. It’s not your fault.”

“Nor yours either.” Their attention was taken by the gonging noise that signaled a meal. “I can’t stand just sitting here while you….”

Danny shook his head. “If it wasn’t me, it would be you. In fact, in time, it probably will be you.”

Jon nodded. “I kind of figured that.”

After they had slept, Loki returned and spoke impatiently as he waited for Danny to get to his feet and come out into the hallway to him. “It is time, young one. I have prepared the instruments for the first implantation. It will not take long.” He eyed O’Neill. “Remain away from the opening and I will not restrain you.”

Danny obediently got to his feet, and then looked down at Jon. “Stay here, please.”

Jon nodded and sat up, remaining on the floor. He watched helplessly as the Asgard led the younger man out of the room. He hated it, but this way he wasn’t totally helpless. Maybe loose, he could figure something out.

The little alien turned to regard the other human as he turned the force field back on. “It is good that you have ceased opposing me. Do not attempt to escape. You cannot get through the barrier without causing injury to yourself.”

Jon just looked at him, hating the fact that Loki was right.

Once the two of them had left, he got to his feet and pressed against the force field at the opening with his hands. It caused a tingling sensation on his palms. He bumped it with his shoulder and was repelled with an electric charge. He then pushed it with a finger. His finger pushed through, though he was experiencing a painful current through his hand. He pulled back and hit it again with shoulder, but more slowly. Again it repelled him, but not with as much force. He frowned and sighed. He’d have to figure this out.

Jon could hear sounds coming from another part of the ship, noises that were familiar to him. They were muted cries of pain. He knew that he needed to get out of the room and to get to Danny.

Approaching the force field that held him prisoner, he gingerly reached out towards the freedom of the hallway. He could feel the crackle of pin pricks along his hand as he came into contact with the barrier. The more he pushed against it, the more it burned him. He could see the hairs on his hand begin to char and disintegrate. As he forced his arm through, his skin turned a bright red. The sensation got more painful and he pulled his arm out of the field.

He gingerly rubbed his now pink skin. It felt like a bad sunburn. Jon tried walking into the field a little faster. He bounced off with a crackle of power.

Then he saw Danny and Loki coming back down the hallway. The youngster was limping badly, dragging his left foot. Loki motioned Jon to step back and then opened the force field to allow Danny to enter the room. As soon as he was in, Jon stepped forward and put his arms around the injured man in support. “What did you do to him?” Jon demanded angrily.

Loki watched them as he turned the force field back on. “I merely implanted a sensory link to his spinal nerves. He will recover the use of his leg in time.” The little alien replied emotionlessly.

Danny leaned heavily on him as Jon helped him back to the far wall. Loki turned and left them alone.

“Danny?” Jon supported his lover as he slid to the floor. The younger man didn’t speak, just grasped his hands in his as if not wanting to lose contact. “Sweetheart, talk to me.”

“Can’t,” came the gasped out reply. “Hurts.”

“Here, try to get comfortable.” Jon lay down next to him to give him some warmth and emotional support. As he began to rub Danny’s body to relax him, his hand encountered something on the other man’s lower back. Danny winced in pain. “What’s this?” The younger man just shook his head.

Jon realized that it was a piece of metal neatly planted across the top of his lover’s pelvic girdle. It had several socket couplings as if for a computer port. The piece had been surgically installed right above Danny’s lumbar vertebra. He helped his lover roll over and supported him as the youngster slid clumsily to lay close beside him. Jon pulled him over on to his chest to protect him from the hard floor. Finally, he felt Danny slip into sleep. Then he began to think of a plan.

Danny had been gone over a day this time. There had been two meal gongs. The first one Jon had ignored but decided with the second one that he should get the tray for Danny when he came back. He would probably need the food, such as it was, to regain his strength.

Jon had played it cool when Loki had returned for the younger man. He’d tried to look like he didn’t really care that some damned bastard alien had taken his lover away to torture him. He’d tried, but knew he hadn’t succeeded. But now, he was really worried. He knew that something was going on in the lab that was not good. Jon could feel it in his bones, and he knew he had to get to Danny now, or it would be too late.

Taking several deep breaths to increase his oxygen supply and his adrenalin, Jon approached the energy barrier and brought both his hands together as if he were diving. He pushed them against the barrier slowly and steadily. They entered the energy field with a sensation of ants crawling and stinging his skin. As he reached his elbows, the tingling began to burn in earnest. He felt the power crackle against his body, searing his skin the farther in he went. He dipped his head and butted against the pressure slowly but insistently. The smell of burning hair accompanied his progress. His face felt on fire. As he reached his shoulders, the pain became more intense, as did the burning sensation. The pressure on his chest was immense. He couldn’t breathe and fought down his panic. He had to try to control his body for a few more seconds, then he could reach the air again. He continued to push, feeling his body hair char as the intense friction burned him. Finally, he began to feel the cool air of the other side on his hands and arms. The pain increased as the main bulk of his body became encased in the field itself. His soft abdomen and genitals felt as if they were being roasted from the inside out. Finally, he fell through the power barrier and tumbled boneless onto the floor. He lay there on the hard metal for several minutes as he gathered his strength, feeling the fresh air burn his lungs as he gasped for oxygen. He knew something bad had happened to him, something very bad.

Laying there on the floor, he held on to consciousness by a thread. After several deep painful breaths, Jon managed to get to his feet. He stumbled down the hallway in the direction that he’d last seen Loki and Danny go, not noticing the red footprints he was leaving in his wake.

The lab was easy to find at the other end of the hall. He stumbled against the door frame and looked into the room. Danny was lying belly down on a flat counter. There was blood on his neck and shoulders. The little scientist was attaching some electrodes to a metal plate in the back of the young man’s naked skull. He glanced over his shoulder at the human.

“What do you want?” the alien practically snarled at him. “I’m busy.”

Jon managed to stagger over to the table and glare across it at Loki. “What have you done to him?”

The Asgard continued to work on the still form. “I am busy. Leave.”

“He’s not breathing! What have you done?” Jon had a sinking sensation in his belly.

“I was connecting the implants when his body convulsed. He must have misdirected the probe into another portion of the brain when he moved.”

Jon could barely keep his knees from buckling. He was too late. Danny was dead. “He? He? He didn’t do anything you bastard. You did it.”

“I am not responsible for his demise. He has ruined my experiment!”

Jon picked up the limp hand lying on his side of the table. It was still warm. “Can’t you bring him back?” He grasped at something he remembered. “Danny said you could bring him back if he died.”

Loki looked up at him and shook his head. “No. Not here. Before, in my lab, I could. Unfortunately, this ship is not equipped with all the technology I had before. I do not have a sarcophagus and he has not responded to my efforts at resuscitation.” He looked up at the human. “He is, unfortunately, quite dead.”

Jon looked across his lover’s body at the bastard that had killed him. “He’s dead”

“Quite dead, I’m afraid.” Loki looked at the human. “It is a good thing that you are here.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jon said bitterly. “It’s a good thing.”

The Asgard looked at him curiously. “How did you get out of my restraining field?”

Jon stood up and shoved the table to the side. “I pushed.”

The alien looked confused. “Pushed?”

“Yeah…I… pushed!” he approached the Asgard. “Like… this.” He reached out and pushed the small alien who fell back against the wall.

“You cannot have done this. The energy field would have injured you.”

Looking down at his reddened, blistered skin, Jon said. “It did.”

“Then, your vital organs have undoubtedly been damaged.” Loki looked disappointed. “You are of no use to me. The power would have caused them to….”

Jon nodded, understanding what was happening to him; why his belly and chest hurt. “Like a cat in a microwave.”

“Why would you do this? The alien stared at him in confusion. “I would have taken care of you as I did the young one.”

“Why?” Jon asked in amazement. “Why? So that I can wait for you to come for me? So that when it’s my turn, you’ll stick a bunch of wires in my head too?” He shook his head. “I didn’t wait, because I knew that something had gone wrong, and I was trying to save him.” He indicated Danny’s body lying limp and pale on the table. “But, now, all I can do is prevent you from doing this to another person.”

Loki blinked. “I do not understand. What you do or do not do does not affect my research.”

Jon stepped forward until he was right in front of the Asgard. He noticed uncaringly that his fingers were beginning to bleed around the fingernails. Then he reached out to grasp the delicate little creature with his bloody hands.

Loki looked down at them, realization coming home at last. “Stop this! You cannot do this,” he protested as the large hands wrapped around his throat. There was disbelief and panic in the large black eyes.

Jon smiled as he felt the small neck snap. “Wanna make a bet?”

After he dropped the lifeless grey alien to the floor, Jon turned back to the table that held his lover. He gently gathered the motionless body in his arms and carried him out of the lab. He wanted to get Danny away from the presence of their murderer.

He made it out in the hall before his own body collapsed. He gently arranged Danny on the floor and lay down next to him, cradling the still body in his arms and tucking the beloved face under his chin where it belonged. He was glad he was dying.

******

He awoke to a seamless cocoon of ambient light. The glow penetrated his eyelids and demanded his attention but he was too tired to respond to its lure. He could hear the whisper of voices talking around and over him.

‘…acceptable… good response… success… rest…’

Yeah, rest. He just needed some more rest. He allowed himself to resubmerge in the pool of light.

The next time he came too, he managed to open his eyes to see several small figures hovering over him. One of them stepped closer. “O’Neill?”

The name sounded correct, though it didn’t cause any bells to ring. He looked up at the slender grey being.

“Do you know me?”

“s’ard?”

“Yes, Asgard. Do you know your name?”

“O’ear?”

“Yes. O’Neill.” The bulbous head nodded, the large black eyes peering into his. “Do you know where you are?”

“Shiiip?”

“Yes, a ship.”

“T’or?”

“Yes, O’Neill. I am Thor.”

He lay there a moment, fitting the puzzle pieces together, He was O’Neill, the grey Asgard was Thor. It connected, but he still wasn’t sure what it meant to him. Another name popped into his head. “anny?”

Thor nodded, “Doctor Jackson is here also. You are both safe.”

Safe, they were safe. O’Neill and Doctor Jackson were safe. That was good. He fell asleep.

The next time he awoke, the little grey being was there again. But this time he was much more insistent. “Do you know who you are?”

“O’Neill, Jonathan, Colonel, USAF 66-789-7876-324.” It came easily to him. He’d been interrogated before.

“Do you know who I am?”

He blinked up at the little grey being beginning to understand where he was. “Asgard?”

“I am Thor.”

He nodded. That made him feel even better for some reason. “Where?”

“On my ship, the Belingneger.”

“Danny?”

“Doctor Jackson is doing well and should be awake soon if he is not recovering all ready.”

Jack felt immediate relief. He struggled to sit up. Another Asgard, behind a console, moved some controls and the bed adjusted to support him. He looked around at the room then down at himself. “Crap!”

He opened his eyes to see several small grey figures hovering over him. One of them stepped closer and he reflexively tried to move away.

“Do you know me?”

“s’ard?”

“Yes, Asgard. Do you know your name?”

“Jak’zon”

“Yes. Doctor Jackson.” The bulbous head nodded, the large black eyes peering into his. “Do you know where you are?”

“shep?”

“Yes, a ship.”

“T’or?”

“No, Doctor Jackson. I am Balder. We have not met before, but I have heard much about you.”

He lay there a moment, fitting the puzzle pieces together, He was Doctor Jackson, the grey Asgard was Balder. It didn’t connect and he wasn’t sure what it meant to him. Another name popped into his head. “J’ak?”

Balder nodded, “Major O’Neill is here also; you are both safe.”

Safe, they were safe. Doctor Jackson and Major O’Neill were safe. That was good. He fell asleep.

The next time he awoke, the little grey being was there again. But this time he was much more insistent. “Do you know who you are?”

“Daniel Jackson.” That came easily, as if he’d been born with it.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Asgard, um, Balder?”

“That is correct.” At Danny’s confusion, the small alien continued. “It is a good indication that your brain has accepted all its information and your synapses are functioning properly.

He turned his head to look around the room curiously. There was another Asgard standing behind a console on the other side of the room. Balder nodded and he moved some controls that allowed him to come to a sitting position.

“You are on Commander Thor’s ship, the Belingneger.” The small being continued. “You will be reunited with your companion soon.

He nodded, accepting the explanation. “Jon? Jon’s here too?”

“Major O’Neill is doing well. He awoke shortly before you did. He is recovering quickly… and most loudly.”

“FIFTEEN!”

“O’Neill, we had little choice, you were quite dead when we located you. The only option that we had was to clone you. And as you know…”

“But, Thor, fifteen… again?”

The patient Asgard continued. “And as you know because of a DNA marker, your clone stopped aging at this level of maturity.”

“But you said you fixed it… the marker thingy… and fifteen is so not a good look for me.”

Thor looked up at the slender youth that still managed to tower above him. “No, O’Neill, we repaired the clone to allow you to continue to live and grow in a normal fashion. This one also has been repaired. The genetic marker still exists in both you and Doctor Jackson.” Thor blinked. “We did not expect to have to use the genetic pattern again. But with your and Doctor Jackson’s demise we were left with no alternative. Cloning was the only option.”

“Our demise? You mean we were dead?”

“Quite dead. When you killed Loki, his ship shut down its life support system. This protects the ship from unauthorized use. Your synaptic patterns were automatically stored in the computer system. This is what allowed us to once again clone and ultimately reanimate you and your companion.” Thor looked at him unsympathetically. “You are both well and whole again, though younger than you were. It was the best we could do.”

“Yeah, well.” Jon looked suitably chastened. “Thanks for the efforts on our part. I didn’t remember the we-were-dead part.”

“You were quite dead, O’Neill.” Thor frowned remembering the desiccated and deteriorating corpses they had found in the laboratory ship of the renegade scientist. “It was a most unpleasant experience. It is also why it took so long to recreate you. We had to locate your original templates.”

Jon looked at him in surprise. “How long has it been?”

“It has been….” As Thor started to answer him, a chime sounded. The small alien halted his sentence and smiled at him. “Doctor Jackson is now awake; would you like to be reunited with him?”

Jon had to smile. “Oh, yeah. I would.” Then he looked at Thor questioningly. “Is he also…?”

Thor nodded. “Yes, O’Neill. He is also fifteen.”

“Sweet.”

Jon followed Thor into another room. There, sitting up on a bed, was Danny looking whole, healthy and only slightly younger than he remembered his lover. “Danny?”

The younger man looked at Jon for a second. “Jon? Is that you?”

He walked quickly over to his partner and hugged him. “It’s really me, babe, or a younger me, anyway.”

Danny pulled back and looked at him quizzically then returned the hug enthusiastically. “I recognize you from before. What happened?”

“Well, I’m not completely in on the exact story, but…”

Thor had watched their interactions before joining them in the room. “You have been cloned, Doctor Jackson. You were unfortunately both quite dead when we finally located Loki’s ship. Your higher brain functions had been automatically stored in his computer, so it was only a matter of reproducing your physical bodies and reanimating you.” He smiled at their expressions. “It was the best we could do.”

“Well, I’m certainly not complaining,” Jon commented. “Okay, I would have liked to be a little older but, as long as we can be together, I’m happy.”

Danny looked at him with a shy smile. “We’re the same age now.”

“Hey, yeah, so we are.” Jon arched an eyebrow at him. “This is kinda cool. We can be together and nobody can say anything.”

“And we’ll be the same age all our lives.” The younger man smiled at him. “We can grow old together, that is if you want to.”

“As if I wouldn’t.” O’Neill pulled him back into a hug and kissed on the top of the head, “And you have all your hair again,” he commented with a smile. “Cool.” He ruffled the long golden strands. He looked at Thor. “So how long has it been since you found us?”

“Nine of your earth months,” the little alien replied. “The process was more time consuming because we could not use your old bodies as templates. We had to locate the old patterns so that these bodies would be complete and perfect.”

Danny looked at him in confusion. “Why? What happened to our old bodies?”

“They were too degraded to be useful,” Thor said apologetically. “It took us some time to find Loki’s ship.”

Jon nodded. “I guess we were pretty rotten by then.” Then concern flashed across his face. “Hey, nine months? The SGC probably thinks we’re dead.”

“Jack and Daniel…”

“Yep, if they figured out what happened, they would have tried to find us.”

“They did try,” Thor commented. “They were the ones that contacted us and asked for our help in searching for you. They were both very worried. Of course, we agreed to help but we were too late to save you in those bodies” He explained apologetically.

“Do they know we are, er, were dead?”

“No,” the Asgard replied. “We are quite some distance from Earth and have been unable to contact them.” Thor smiled at the two young men. “However, we shall return to Earth… if that is what you wish.”

The two teenagers smiled at each other and intertwined their hands. Then Jon looked at his alien friend. “Yeahshuryabettcha.”

%%%%%

Jack O’Neill had settled into his lawn chair with his cup of coffee. He admired the lawn he had just finished mowing. It felt good that he was mobile enough to do it. It had taken him a long time to build up again after his last knee replacement.

Thinking about the operation and the reason for it, caused him to frown in worry. They had never been able to find Jon and Danny after that day almost a year ago. The last time they had been seen was when they left the mountain after the lockdown. When they didn’t show up the following day, Daniel himself had gone to their apartment looking for them. Their vehicles were in the secure parking garage. He had found Jon’s uniform jacket and Danny’s backpack lying on the kitchen table. They hadn’t even changed out of that day’s clothing.

An intensive search had revealed nothing. Queries to the Asgard, the Nox and their other off world allies had turned up nothing. It was frustrating, annoying and heartbreaking. He’d gotten used to having the two young men around.

He drained his mug and got to his feet to go inside the house. It was almost time for Daniel to get home and he wanted to talk to him. He wanted to hear his voice.

As he was about to enter the house, he saw the vibration of the air. He paused and watched as a small grey form materialized on his St Augustine grass. “Thor?” He looked over his glasses frames. “Thor? Is that you?”

“Yes, O’Neill. It is I. I am pleased to see you looking well.” The alien blinked at him with an Asgardian smile.

“You too, buddy. Long time no see.”

“Indeed, we have been reestablishing some of our colonies that were destroyed by the Replicators. They are some distance from Earth.”

“How’s that going for you?”

“It is going very well for us… and you.”

“Oh?”

“I have news for you, O’Neill… on the missing clones.”

Jack took a step forward eagerly, “You found them?”

“Indeed,” Thor replied. “We have found them.”

“Where were they? No, where are they?” O’Neill reached forward and grasped the slender shoulders.

The Asgard nodded. “They are presently on my ship, but they are… some what changed.”

Jack looked at him worriedly. “Changed? What does that mean?”

“As you see,” as he spoke the air shook again and two figures began to form on the grass beside Thor, “they are… different than you remember them.”

The two figures that appeared were similar in size and shape; both were wearing a shiny metallic wrap around kilt. The brown haired boy looked over at the blond and quickly took his hand. He smiled at his companion. “We made it.”

Jack was shocked speechless as he recognized his now much younger self. “Shit, Jon. Is that you?”

The slender youth looked back at him with his own dark brown eyes. “Yeah, I’m afraid so.” He tugged the other smaller youth that was standing next to him closer to his side. But… we’re alive. I guess that’s worth something.”

The older man stepped to them and scooped them both into a hug. “We’ve been so worried about you, Daniel’s been going nuts.” He looked back at Thor who nodded at them.

“O’Neill, I must return to the ship.”

“Of course, old buddy. It’s been great to see you and thanks for the help… again.”

“I am pleased we found them. Take care of each other.”

“Yeahshuryabettcha.” Jack looked down at the two adolescents. “You know I want a full explanation of this, right?”

Jon shrugged. “I’ll tell you what we know.” He glanced at Danny, “What’s wrong, babe?”

Danny only shook his head. “I’m fine,” he said softly.

Jack looked at them both critically. “Yeah, I can see just how fine you are. C’mon. Let’s get you inside and find you some clothes and some food.”

As Jack ushered the two youngsters into the house, the front door opened to Daniel. The archaeologist had just returned home from work. Jack called out to him. “Hey babe, Look who showed up in time for dinner.”

“Oh my God!” The older Jackson almost dropped his laptop case. “Danny, Jon, is that really you?”

Danny smiled at the man he’d come to consider his second father and ran into his arms.

Jon grinned up at Jack then back at his partner who was being thoroughly hugged and examined by Daniel. “Yep, it’s us alright. We’ve just been downsized again.”

“What happened?” Daniel took his younger self in hand and looked at him closely. “You’re younger. And Jon looks like he did fifteen years ago.”

“Yeah, fifteen seems to be a magic number with you two,” Jack commented wryly. “What’s with that anyway?”

Jon shrugged. “It has something to do with the marker they put in our DNA.” At Jack’s puzzled looked he continued. “Since we were dead, they had to go back to the original uh, mold…”

“Template,” Danny corrected. “Thor said our last bodies were too bad to use as a template.”

“Yeah, that.” Jon smiled at his partner. “We were too rotten.”

Daniel looked shocked. “You died?”

“Well, Loki killed Danny accidentally and then I not so accidentally broke his neck,” Jon said angrily. “Then I died too. It really sucked.”

Jack shook his head and slipped his arm around Jon’s shoulder with a pat and a squeeze. “The tradition continues.”

As Jack started dinner, Daniel escorted the two teenagers into the guest bedroom. It held a number of large cardboard boxes.

“When you didn’t come back we had to close up your apartment,” The older man explained apologetically. “We brought the personal stuff back here. Your furniture is in storage.”

Jon nodded. “I really appreciate it. It wasn’t a lot but it will get us started again.”

“Here are the boxes with your clothes, though I guess you will have to go shopping for some,” Daniel pointed out looking critically at the shorter version of Jon.

Danny smiled shyly. “He can wear some of mine. They’ll probably fit him better than me now.”

Daniel nodded and pulled one box off the pile. “I think this box is yours.”

Jon stepped over to Danny’s side and pulled him into a hug. “You’ve been awfully quiet babe. How are you doing?”

The blond boy returned his hug and sighed. “Still a little shocked I guess,” he admitted. “I don’t remember much before waking up on Thor’s ship. One minute I was in the lab, the next you were coming in the room as a fifteen year old.”

Jon nodded. “I can imagine. Thor said our brains had been stored by the computer when the ship shut down, but I didn’t know what you would remember. You were already dead by the time I got there. Loki was trying to resuscitate you when I got to the lab.”

Danny looked into his eyes. “How did you die?”

“I forced my way through the energy barrier. I must have done some organ damage because I know I was bleeding internally. But I think I must have actually died when the ship shut down.” He kissed his partner on the forehead. “I really didn’t care, though. You were already gone so it didn’t matter.”

Daniel cleared his throat they both looked at him. He was holding two sets of sweat pants and tee shirts he’d found in the box he’d opened. “Why don’t you two take a shower and come down when you’re ready. I’ll get Jack to make something simple for dinner and then you can turn in early.” He motioned at the double bed. “Just make yourselves at home.”

Jon smiled his appreciation. “Thanks Daniel. I think we need some breathing space.”

“We’ll have to call Paul tomorrow morning and let him know what’s happened, but that can wait.”

“Yeah, I’ll need another ID change I guess.”

Daniel nodded. “Danny’s not too far off from when he left so he should be okay. You’ll have to be your own son again, or nephew… whatever.”

Jon chuckled. “Great! Jack will love being a Dad again. I can see it now… Not!”

“Well,” Daniel said as he left the room,” he’s mellowed a bit. He might surprise you.”

When they were finally alone, Jon took Danny in his arms and kissed him, gently and sweetly on the lips. “At last, some privacy,” he whispered.

Danny returned the caresses eagerly. “Jon, can you just hold me, please?”

Jon smiled and led the other boy to the double bed. He tugged the covers back and the two lay down on the sheet. “Here we are, sweetheart.”

Snuggling up next to his lover, Danny sighed. “How long has it been?”

“Almost ten months unless you count sleeping together on Loki’s ship. Emphasis on the sleeping.” Jon said with a sigh.

Danny cuddled up to him and inhaled his lover’s scent. “This feels so good.” He rubbed his cheek on the smooth skin of Jon’s slender chest. “Though I miss the chest hair.”

The other boy peered down his chin at his lover. “It’ll be several years before there’s anything there.”

“I don’t really care, you still smell like you and,” a pink tongue lapped against his neck, “still taste like you.”

Jon reached down and tilted the beloved face up to kiss it. “And you still talk too much.”

“Oh?” Danny chuckled, “then I guess I’ll have to find something else to do.”

The end, for now.


End file.
